Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Recently
the Royal Malaysian Air Force (TUDM) invited a selected group of new media
practitioners for a tour of their facilities in TUDM Kuantan. We got to meet
the Minister of Defense Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi while Panglima Tentera
Udara Jen Tam Sri Rodzali “Rod” Daud was our gracious host.

A
big thank you shout out to the Corporate Communications Unit of MINDEF, TUDM
and Big Dog for organizing this and for inviting the Spanker.

We
were issued media kits and specially commissioned shirts before being flown
onboard a stripped down C130H Hercules military transport from Pengakalan Udara
Subang to Pengkalan Udara Kuantan.

While
en-route, we noticed two MiG 29Ns from Squadron No 17 that suddenly appeared and
started “escorting” our C130H and were informed that we were in for a ‘Forced
Down’ interception demonstration.

We
were ill prepared for what would follow after we landed. In a scene straight from a Hollywood movie, PASKAU
commandos surrounded our plane and ordered everyone out in double quick time, quickly
identifying five ‘terrorists’ in our midst and expertly disabling, arresting
and quarantining them all within 3 minutes! The Spanker found out that it is
possible to be shocked and impressed at the same time.

After
being welcomed by Minister of Defense Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, we were
advised that although we were free to shoot and write about anything that we
saw and observed in Pengkalan Udara Kuantan without any restriction, we were still
encouraged to practice self censorship in certain sensitive matters of national
defense. The Spanker thought that this was a very mature approach indeed, and found Dato Seri to be quite a cool guy.

TUDM
proceeded to showcase their MiG 29N ‘Smoking Bandits’ launch alert and Hawk 206
attack aerial display together with fast roping, SPIE rig (Special
Patrol/Purpose Insertion/Extraction) and several static displays but the highlight
of the day would definitely have to be two of our own media fellers being
specially selected and flown to a height of 10,000ft from where they participated
in a tandem-free-fall jump from the military transport! Lucky buggers.

At
Squadron 320 Sector Operations Centre 02 (SOC02), we witnessed a live
demonstration of the SENTRY Command and Control system where 150 aircraft
movements all over the Peninsular were being tracked. For our benefit, a real
time air defense operation involving two MiG 29Ns from Squadron No. 17 with the
callsigns of ‘Taufan Ganas 1′ and ‘Taufan Ganas 2′ were deployed to identify
and intercept an approaching aircraft codenamed ‘Bravo Bravo 100’.

The
visit to Pengkalan Udara Kuantan also demonstrated the TUDM's alertness,
readiness and PASKAU deployment and extraction from the combat area of
operations.

Useful
backgrounder:

The
Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal
Federation of Malaya Air Force. However, its roots can be traced back to the
Malayan Auxiliary Air Force formations of the British Royal Air Force in then
colonial British Malaya. Today, the Royal Malaysian Air Force operates a unique
mix of modern US, European and Russian-made aircraft.

The
Malaysian air forces trace their lineage to the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force
formations of the Royal Air Force raised in 1934. They later transformed into
the Straits Settlements Volunteer Air Force and the Malaya Volunteer Air Force
formed in 1940 and dissolved in 1942 during the height of the Japanese advance
over Malaya. The latter was reestablished in 1950 in time for the Malayan
Emergency and contributed very much to the war effort. On 2 June 1958, the MVAF
finally became the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force, this date is
celebrated as RMAF Day yearly.

On
25 October 1960, after the end of the Malayan Emergency, the British Royal Air
Force handed over their first base in Malaya to the RFMAF, at Simpang Airport;
it was established on 1 June 1941, in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur which was
formerly part of Selangor and the national capital city. With
the formation of the Malaysian Federation on 16 September 1963, the name of the
force was changed to "Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia" or Royal
Malaysian Air Force".

The
special arm of the RMAF is known as PASKAU (Pasukan Khas Udara - 'Special Air
Service'), and is part of the RMAF Regiment. PASKAU was formed in response to a
mortar attack by the then Communist Party of Malaya on a DHC-4 Caribou in the
1970s at the Kuala Lumpur Air Base. During peacetime, the unit is tasked with
responding to aircraft hijacking incidents as well as protecting the country's
numerous RMAF airbases and civilian airports. Its wartime roles include ground
designation, sabotaging of enemy air assets and equipment and the defence of
RMAF aircraft and bases. This unit is also deployed for counter-terrorism
duties as well as Urban warfare/Close quarters

Sunday, September 9, 2012

According
to the Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013, released worldwide on 5th
Sept 2012, Malaysia's overall score dropped slightly to 5.06 points and its
world competitive score dropped to 25th place. Last year, Malaysia
was the 21st most competitive with a score of 5.08.

Among
the factors that brought our score down are two items related to perception on
crime:

1.
Perception on business costs for crime and violence and

2.
Perception on organized crime

It’s
true that public perception of the crime rates in Malaysia aren’t as good as they
could be, as most perceive that the crime rate exceeds the figure reported by
PEMANDU.

PEMANDU
had recently announced that the crime index in Malaysia had dropped 10.1
percent between January and May this year compared to the corresponding period
last year.

Based
on the figures released by Reducing Crime NKRA director Eugene Teh of PEMANDU,
there were 63,221 cases between January and May 2012 compared to 70,343 cases
recorded in the corresponding period last year.

When
MARAH asked how PEMANDU came up with the statistics, Eugene said that the
number comes from the reports keyed in at the various police departments.

“There
is a flow beginning from when a complainant makes a report until it is inserted
into the system. Called the Police Reporting System or PRS, the cases keyed
into it will provide us with the crime index statistics. It is entirely possible
that there are cases which go unreported thus making it tougher for us to
compile the exact number,” said Eugene.

When
asked if it was possible for PEMANDU to detect unreported cases, he said, “The
media can play a big role in spreading the message in informing the public to
report crimes which have occurred. Should the police refuse to take your
report, then the complainant has the right to lodge a complaint at the Police
Bureau.”

MARAH’s
very existence is testimony that there is much public anxiety over the recent
crime spree. Yes, we are told that the overall crime index has dropped and
there is really no reason not to believe that the police are not doing their
best to fight crime.

The
last thing our police force would want is to have headlines of high-profile
crime cases splashed across the newspapers. However, perception is everything
and Malaysians, especially urbanites, do feel insecure with women and the
elderly seeming to be the preferred targets.

As
a journalist I can vouch that the police often update the media on a daily basis
with the more serious crime cases - murder, abduction, drug seizures and armed
robberies. However, incidences of so called “lesser” crime also take place
daily and the police have often regarded such cases as petty crime given that they
deal with thousands of cases.

As
such “petty” crimes such as break-ins and snatch thefts are often relegated to
the bottom but now with the proliferation of social media the public are better
connected to reaching out to each other, and younger Malaysians are wont to
share their experiences with the world.

Such
incidents are now prominently posted on all the various social media platforms
by the victims, complete with gory photographs which go viral in an instant. These
incidents are then picked up by online news portals and lastly by the
mainstream newspapers.

Our
government officials and senior police officers have been quite vocal in not
wanting to see such cases sensationalized in social media but subscribing to
the Ostrich mentality is not the answer as we definitely should not be in
denial mode and these cases must be published factually and accurately and
discussed in order to find a quick and proper solution.

Politicians
on both sides of the divide are of no help as many only want to pursue their
own dubious agendas by hijacking the current red hot issue of crime as a free
ride to popularity, given the looming general elections.

Bashing
the Government and the cops is easy peasy but public apathy has also been
identified as one of the reasons why criminals have become more brazen in
committing crimes. Fighting crime isn’t the prerogative of the police alone.

There
is a deep set reluctance among the public to step forward and give evidence. Many
fear testifying in the courts as the lengthy court process is actually a
hindrance to the police and prosecution to dispatch these thugs to jail. Furthermore
there are also those who fear repercussion to their personal safety and those
of their loved ones.

The
government has indeed spent a large amount of money aimed at reducing the
number of crimes in Malaysia, including 71% of the budget in the NKRA to reduce
street crimes, increase prosecution of violent offenders and increasing public
satisfaction of the police.

Another
hotly discussed topic is the abolishment of the Emergency Ordinance and the repeal
of the ISA and the Sedition Act. There is fear that former detainees are now
freely rampaging back to their bad boy ways. These ex-EO detainees are being
blamed for the recent spike in crime although there is no real data to back
this claim.

Last
year, more than 700 people were detained under the EO and although the police
have justified the use of the EO to bring in criminals that they cannot charge
in court due to insufficient evidence, they themselves have also been accused
of abusing the EO.

What
we need is solid preventive act to deter these thugs and restore public
confidence. At the same time the public also need to play their role as
responsible citizens in ensuring that crime is prevented. The prevention of
crime is vital towards the building of a peaceful and safe Malaysia. While
crime fighting is undoubtedly the responsibility of the authorities, the public
can also play an important role by looking out for themselves and their local
community.

It
is every individual’s duty to report a crime to the police. The information
provided could be used to prevent other crimes and help keep other people safe.
The police cannot be omnipresent everywhere all the time.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

The
latest initiative by the government to resolve Kuala Lumpur’s transport woes is
a most welcome venture undertaken by the Land Public Transport Commission
(SPAD). For the first two loops which began on the morning of Merdeka 2012, 15
buses seating 60 passengers each will cover an area of 13.9km with 25 stops.

This
new free intracity bus service is called Go-KL City Bus, and its salient
features are that it’s free, disabled friendly, wifi enabled, has security
cameras installed both onboard and facing outwards, has GPS, and will have
undercover enforcement officers riding along with normal passengers to ensure
no untoward incidents.

The
bus service is also eco-friendly as a sapling will be planted for every
cumulative 1000km, to offset the estimated carbon emission of 0.11 metric tons.
Furthermore, the old bus tires will go towards creating artificial reefs to
help restore damaged coral reefs and enhance fisheries.

Currently
it covers two loops over the central business district (CBD); with one starting
from KLCC and the other from Pasar Seni. By year-end, SPAD plans to add another
two loops.

SPAD
projects a daily ridership of more than 20,000 for the two loops, which are
supposed to reduce the need for more buses from entering the CBD as they are
one of the main causes of congestion. The initiative also encourages private
vehicle owners to use the free public transport.

This
service operates daily from 6am to 11pm and promises a five minute frequency
during peak hours, and 15-minutes at off peak hours. SPAD is fully aware of the
fact that it will need the cooperation of the other government agencies like PDRM,
DBKL and JPJ. It requires the assistance of DBKL and the other authorities to
ensure buses are able to move unhindered.

DBKL
is supposed to assist in providing designated bus lanes, permission for bus
stops and the enforcement on private vehicles in the city to give way and not
abuse the bus lanes.

SPAD
said the annual operating cost for the services would be at RM4 million. The
buses are bought by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, a wholly-owned government
company set up to facilitate, undertake and expedite public infrastructure
projects. SPAD pays for the services rendered. The whole deal will be governed
by a service level agreement.

“So,
there are no contracts to buy buses or anything like that here,” quipped Syed
Hamid at the briefing, when the media began probing on the ringgit and sen of
the whole venture. If this works, it would be money well spent. Let’s all
cooperate and give Go-KL a try. It’s kinda hard to miss the buses as they’re
painted a bright pink!

1st MARBC

About Me

is a twisted, wicked, sarcastic, single, dirty old man with 28 years experience in hospitality, entertainment and media. He’s been involved in the senior management of several hotels and resorts and just about every club in the Klang Valley and loves to people watch.
This gives him a unique insider’s perspective and he brings with him a valuable local and regional network of business associates that personally know him on a first name basis.
A seasoned journalist, Dave is currently the Chief Editor and Senior Partner for Frigglive.com and Ascension Media, as well as Media Mafia Malaysia besides having his own company One Media Publishing.
Although Dave is much sought after for his Media Strategist and Media Liaison expertise for his firsthand knowledge and experience, he erroneously thinks he is popular because he can consume large quantities of wine while regaling everyone with witty anecdotes and interesting trivia about his staple liquid diet – alcohol.